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15 July 2011

Watermelon Sweet Treats

I am so tired of synthetic ingredients in my food. You? It's taxing to try to avoid all the artificial colors, high fructose corn syrup and everything else completely absurd added to our food. I haven't succeeded in cutting it completely out of our diet, but we're getting closer. Is it just a rumor, or is it true that European nations ban the use of artificial color in their food? If so, shouldn't that tell the US something with big flags waving and neon signs blinking? Anyway.

I decided to make my baby dills some popsicles and remembered only as we were eating them that they're not huge popsicle fans. Hehe. Except for Olive. She ate hers and the rest of Pearl's. I made up some Watermelon Creamsicles but then had leftover liquid, so the next day we had Watermelon Ice Cream, which was much more quickly and completely consumed.

I had 3 cups of watermelon puree, about 2 cup of cream and sugar to taste. My watermelon wasn't very sweet (which is how I got the idea in the first place). Start with 1/2 cup or so and taste until it's just a bit sweeter than you think necessary. You could also consider using honey for something more natural. Blend together.

I put small watermelon chunks at the bottom (or top, depending on how you look at it) and poured the watermelon mixture in. Please excuse my drippiness. The real trick of this whole thing was finding room in the freezer for these push-up pops. Move over edamame and 20 lbs of blueberries! Although I think I'm runner-up to my mom when it comes to fitting things in the freezer and dishwasher ;)

This one needs to get out more.

In case you're counting, Divine was at her Gammy's :) Normally I don't plan ahead very well, but when it comes to sweet treats, I always keep my ice cream bowl frozen because it just takes a few minutes to freeze up some soft serve. Instantly impressive to any guests who happen to drop by.

3 simple ingredients. Why do they make it so complicated?

Ryan's sweet tooth hovers on the chocolate end of the spectrum, but mine is usually on the fruit side. He's more about the chocolate sauce than the ice cream. (FYI, a perfect marriage of the two we've discovered: flourless chocolate cake with raspberry puree sauce and a bit of slightly sweetened real whipped cream....) I always love pumpkin ice cream around Halloween, seeing how it's still pretty warm here, and of course avocado ice cream is a treat that Ryan and I save for ourselves when the baby dills are in bed ;) Do you have any great ice cream or sorbet recipes?

ps In case you're wondering, I've had my molds for years, but if you're looking for a source, I found this article which has 5 suggestions for great popsicle molds.

31 comments:

I love the idea of using seasonal fruit for ice cream! We already know we're taking a risk on our waistlines by having a bread machine, so we don't have an ice cream maker (yet?). We get our ice cream from a local dairy that doesn't use hormones or antibiotics in their cows...it's the best milk/ice cream/butter I've ever tasted, and I won't go back to anything else.

My sister and I are both pretty sensitive to food dyes, so we've been avoiding those for years....but it's still hard. It's amazing that you can go to Europe and get *real* chocolate at gas stations and corner shops because they just don't add the crap to it there that we do here. I brought a bunch back with me from a trip to London last year and the family was amazed. There's been a big push lately to get back to farm-fresh, organic, and/or natural foods lately, and I hope this trend stays around for a while.

TheYellowRose--I know, right? I think more people have artificial food dye sensitivities than we think, and that if we saw more of the process our food goes through we would cut out many things from our diets. I wish I had a local dairy, that sounds delicious.

Yeah, after 5 years we figured out my sons autism like behavior was actually sensitivity to food dyes and colors- not autism at all. Took all that junk out completely and 5 days later he was a NEW KID. Even his teachers were amazed and asked what we did.

I've been trying very hard all summer (so far successfully) to convince myself that I really don't need an ice cream maker. This post may be my undoing, particularly the mention of pumpkin ice cream. I love pumpkin everything and am in fact finishing up a pumpkin muffin as I type. We have an ice cream place in Boston that makes a delicious burnt caramel ice cream, so if you come across anything like that, please post it.

Leslie-that's exactly what I'm talking about! I've heard so many stories like that--so glad you figured it out relatively early for him. The ice cream bowl is just what goes in my ice cream machine that needs to be frozen for 24 hours before use. What would be really nice is one that freezes on it's own!

In case your readers are wondering there is a great deal going over on Pick your Plum for those reusable push pops. I am in no way related to or paid for this by the way just thought you would like to know.

I love to take watermelon and a lemon, give it a little whirl in the blender and then just drink it like a slurpie. It's very refreshing on a hot day...which is just about every summer day in the south!

Thanks so much for the recipe and info on the popsicle molds! I was just looking for some molds the other day--so tired of only having the junk-filled popsicle options to give my daughter and want to try some yummy healthier options. I couldn't find molds anywhere! So glad to have the info!

could you imagine the change in our country if people ate REAL food instead of processed and altered food with additives?! sugar is what we are kicking out of our household currently.... I think this would work as well with honey or maple syrup!i would looooove your flourless chocolate cake recipe, lady. also interested in the ice cream bowl- where'd that come from?

I'm with you on all the unnecesary ingredients. I make all of our cookies in our dehydrator with just a few simple ingredients. (Cocoa, oats, agave, coconut oil, and a little water.) My kids gobble them up and now call store bought cookies "trash cookies!"

Thanks for the inspiration Katy...I just so happened to have half a watermelon and some cream that needed to be used up so I made some of these ten seconds after seeing this post. I added Greek yogurt and agave nectar to mine and then I maybe drank the leftover liquid...so good.

Hi there! While I do appreciate your post (as always though) I must also comment on it. I am a food scientist for Sara Lee. I work day in and out with the pressures of feeding the nation $1 cheaper than it was done last year. Food manufactures feed people what they buy...so, if the nation moves towards buying all natural foods, us companies will give that to them. When the economy is bad people are not willing to spend the money.

All natural ingredients are much more expensive to produce & buy and there fore raise the price of the foods...not to mention higher fuel prices increasing the costs for transportation of the food...

With all that being said, I try to feed my little girl veggies out of our garden but I also have to remember her Grandpa is a life-long farmer of GM crops...

That looks delish, Katy! And I love the rocket molds. I made blueberry swirl pops yesterday with cream, greek yogurt, sugar, and blueberries (thank you thank you thank you Martha Stewart!). Nothing like fresh ingredients and beautiful natural colors!

Hello, I live in England. It is a bit of an exaggeration to say we don't have food with additives and colourants - we do. BUT I have noticed that recipes from the US (like the Martha Stewarts' ones I've tried) call for a great deal more sugar content and extras like corn syrup?! and I've tasted American chocolate (Hershey's) and I find it DISGUSTING!! (Please don't take it personally) However, we definitely prefer to buy food without additives and, preferably, organic which you can find in all shops and supermarkets.

Melanie-day one was popsicles, the liquid just poured and frozen, day two was ice cream, frozen in an ice cream maker.

Serenia-yes, you are absolutely right. Companies will go on making what people buy, which is exactly why we should vote with our dollars. It would be nice if the government would help out, but ultimately we are all responsible for our own family's health, right? We believe that if we spend more money now on good food, our health bills will be less in the end. I'd rather do it that way than the other way around.

Becky-I haven't yet explored agave syrup, but I definitely would like to try your recipe!

Minty-agreed. Hershey's is overly sweet and artificial, no offense taken :) I think we have gotten used to things being so overly sweet that we don't notice any more and it takes a conscientious effort in America to cut back on sugar.

Hi, I live in Sweden and some food colourings associated with hyper activity and allergies have been banned since 1977.However, sice we became part of the European Union we had to allow them again. I do think that we are aware of what we eat (and let our children eat) and try to avoid them anyway.

We have "saturday sweets" i.e the children only get sweets on the weekend...

Katy, I completely agree about the food dyes, additives, etc. We try to stay away from them too. I've also heard the "rumor" that the EU countries are banning food dyes, and such. We love popsicles, and we have the Zoku quick pop maker. I can't wait to try your recipe :).

First, I agree whole heartedly about the artificial products that we allow ourselves and our families to consume..they are destructive and as a teacher, I can tell you that I have often seem a marked difference in children who have parents making important changes in diet. It seems that there are people who don't take it seriously.I was also wondering where you found that adorable glass container the cream is in!

I just returned from the basement freezer where I have been storing my watermelon ice cream. Spoon in hand. Guilty as charged. This may be my new favorite treat! Thank you for sharing -- love your blog!

Serenia is right on about companies making what people buy (and that the issue is more complex and affects more aspects of our lives and economy that just the food on store shelves), and Katy is right that we as consumers should vote with our dollars. Although I too do my best to avoid foods without artificial ingredients and to keep the food our family consumes as close to nature as possible, I would be very uncomfortable with the government stepping in on the issue. The truth is that in most cases issues like these are best left to work themselves out without government involvement. When government gets involved in things that are outside the essential roles of government, unintended consequences arise and dangerous precedents are set.